System and method for online sign up provider selection

Abstract

A mobile station selects a provider such as an online sign up (OSU) provider by receiving a pre-association message including OSU selection information from a Wi-Fi network component, such as an access point in communication with the OSU provider, and sending a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information to the network component. The OSU selection information excludes identification of the OSU network provider or resource, but provides other attributes to the user, such as price or service configuration. The pre-association message may be transmitted as a beacon or using ANQP.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for online sign up (OSU) provider selection, comprising:
 receiving, by a mobile station, a pre-association message, the pre-association message including OSU selection information; 
 accepting, by the mobile station, a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information; and 
 connecting, by the mobile station, to a server of the OSU provider in accordance with the selection, wherein the OSU selection information indicates a relationship between the OSU provider and a basic service set (BSS), the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS specifying (i) whether the BSS is a preferred BSS for the OSU provider, (ii) whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider, (iii) a BSS priority order for the OSU provider, (iv) whether the OSU provider is a preferred OSU provider for the BSS, or (v) an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-association message includes at least one of an OSU friendly name, a network access identifier (NAI), and a universal resource identifier (URI) in addition to the OSU selection information. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the OSU selection information on a display of the mobile station. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-association message is an access network query protocol (ANQP) protocol message. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-association message is a beacon. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the OSU selection information comprises a service attribute of the OSU provider. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the service attribute of the OSU provider is selected from the group consisting of: cost of subscription, minimum quality of service guaranteed, available services, cost of service, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the service attribute of the OSU provider is a human readable text field in the pre-association message. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the server of the OSU provider is indicated by at least one of an universal resource identifier (URI) and a network access identifier (NAI). 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the OSU selection information is embedded in an OSU provider field of the pre-association message. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the OSU selection information is an introduction of at least one of the OSU provider and a service provider. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the introduction is in the form of human readable text transferred to the mobile station by a network serving the mobile station. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile station automatically scans the introduction for a key word matching a pre-configured key word. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the OSU selection information is an advertisement from the OSU provider. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the BSS is a most preferred BSS for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the BSS is the own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates the BSS priority order for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the OSU provider is a most preferred OSU provider for the BSS. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS specifies the OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
     
     
       20. A method for online sign up (OSU) provider selection, comprising:
 receiving, by a mobile station, a pre-association message, the pre-association message including an OSU provider identifier and OSU selection information; 
 accepting, by the mobile station, a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information; and 
 connecting, by the mobile station, to a server of the OSU provider in accordance with the selection, wherein the OSU selection information indicates a relationship between the OSU provider and a basic service set (BSS), the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS specifying (i) whether the BSS is a preferred BSS for the OSU provider, (ii) whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider, (iii) a BSS priority order for the OSU provider, (iv) whether the OSU provider is a preferred OSU provider for the BSS, or (v) an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the pre-association message is one of an access network query protocol (ANQP) protocol message and a beacon. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the OSU selection information comprises a service attribute of the OSU provider. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the service attribute of the OSU provider is selected from the group consisting of: cost of subscription, minimum quality of service guaranteed, available services, cost of service, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the service attribute of the OSU provider is a human readable text field in the pre-association message. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the OSU selection information is embedded in an OSU provider field of the pre-association message. 
     
     
       26. A method permitting online sign up (OSU) provider selection, comprising:
 transmitting, by a network component, a pre-association message, the pre-association message including an OSU provider identifier and OSU selection information; and 
 receiving, at the network component, a selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information, wherein the OSU selection information indicates a relationship between the OSU provider and a basic service set (BSS), the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS specifying (i) whether the BSS is a preferred BSS for the OSU provider, (ii) whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider, (iii) a BSS priority order for the OSU provider, (iv) whether the OSU provider is a preferred OSU provider for the BSS, or (v) an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the pre-association message is an access network query protocol (ANQP) protocol message. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the pre-association message is a beacon. 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the network component is an access point. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the network component is an access network query protocol (ANQP) server. 
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the OSU selection information indicates a service attribute of the OSU provider. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 31 , wherein the service attribute of the OSU provider is selected from the group consisting of: cost of subscription, minimum quality of service guaranteed, available services, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the OSU selection information is embedded in a OSU provider field of the pre-association message. 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the OSU selection information is an introduction of at least one of the OSU provider and a service provider. 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the OSU selection information is an advertisement from the OSU provider. 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the BSS is a most preferred BSS for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates a BSS priority order for the OSU provider. 
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS indicates whether the OSU provider is a most preferred OSU provider for the BSS. 
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS is an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
     
     
       41. A mobile station in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network, comprising:
 an antenna adapted to receive a pre-association message, the pre-association message including an online sign up (OSU) provider identifier and OSU selection information; and 
 an input device adapted to permit selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information, wherein the OSU selection information indicates a relationship between the OSU provider and a basic service set (BSS), wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS is at least one of an indication of whether the BSS is a preferred BSS for the OSU provider, an indication of whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider, a BSS priority order for the OSU provider, an indication of whether the OSU provider is a preferred OSU provider for the BSS, and an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
 
     
     
       42. The mobile station of  claim 41 , wherein the input device is a display. 
     
     
       43. The mobile station of  claim 41 , wherein the pre-association message is one of an access network query protocol (ANQP) protocol message and a beacon. 
     
     
       44. The mobile station of  claim 41 , wherein the OSU selection information indicates a service attribute of the OSU provider, the service attribute selected from the group consisting of: cost of subscription, minimum quality of service guaranteed, available services, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       45. The mobile station of  claim 41 , wherein the OSU selection information is embedded in a OSU provider field of the pre-association message. 
     
     
       46. The mobile station of  claim 41 , wherein the OSU selection information is an advertisement from the OSU provider. 
     
     
       47. A controller in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network, comprising:
 an antenna adapted to transmit a pre-association message, the pre-association message including an online sign up (OSU) provider identifier and OSU selection information; and 
 the antenna adapted to receive the selection of an OSU provider in accordance with the OSU selection information, wherein the OSU selection information indicates a relationship between the OSU provider and a basic service set (BSS), wherein the relationship between the OSU provider and the BSS is at least one of an indication of whether the BSS is a most preferred BSS for the OSU provider, an indication of whether the BSS is an own-deployed BSS for the OSU provider, a BSS priority order for the OSU provider, an indication of whether the OSU provider is a most preferred OSU provider for the BSS, and an OSU provider priority order for the BSS. 
 
     
     
       48. The controller of  claim 47 , wherein the pre-association message is one of an access network query protocol (ANQP) protocol message and a beacon. 
     
     
       49. The controller of  claim 47 , wherein the controller is one of a base station, an access network, a node B, and an evolved node B (eNB). 
     
     
       50. The controller of  claim 47 , wherein the OSU selection information indicates a service attribute of the OSU provider, the service attribute selected from the group consisting of: cost of subscription, minimum quality of service guaranteed, available services, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       51. The controller of  claim 47 , wherein the OSU selection information is embedded in a OSU provider field of the pre-association message. 
     
     
       52. The controller of  claim 47 , wherein the OSU selection information is an advertisement from the OSU provider. 
     
     
       53. A method for online sign up (OSU) provider selection, comprising:
 communicating an access network query protocol (ANQP) message between a server and a Wi-Fi enabled device, the ANQP message comprising at least an OSU provider subfield, wherein the OSU provider subfield includes an OSU provider length field, an OSU friendly name length field, an OSU friendly name field, an OSU server uniform resource identifier (URI) length field, an OSU method list length field, an OSU method list field, an icons available field, an OSU network access identifier (NAI) length field, an OSU service description length field, and an OSU service description field, 
 wherein the OSU service description field includes a service provider's description of a service being offered to the Wi-Fi enabled device.